


althaea frutex

by worstgirl



Series: ink and petals [2]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Disney References, Florist x Tattoo Artist AU, M/M, They’re idiots, coming clean, deere, dillinjer - Freeform, expensive headphones, jake is a flirt and jeremy is a mess, jeremy heere is a twink, matchmaker rich, michael owns an arcade, oblivious boys, platonic boyf riends banter, will connolly jeremy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 14:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18074969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worstgirl/pseuds/worstgirl
Summary: althaea frutex — consumed by love“Besides, I’m not telling him that I like him because a, I don’t know he’s gay, b, I told him I had a girlfriend, and 3, if we do date or hook up and then break up it’s going to be super awkward because I’m super awkward and he’s totally awesome and-“





	althaea frutex

Jeremy slumped on the table in the food court, groaning. “Michael, I’m having a crisis!” He whined, his hair dangerously close to falling in his basket of chili fries. The boy across from him just looked at him, raising an eyebrow. 

 

“I really don’t see your issue. There’s a cute boy who works next to you, who seems to be interested in you-“

 

“I doubt that-“

 

“Shut your self-deprecating mouth. Anyways. Cute flower boy likes you. You’ve been going to his shop almost every day. I think your  _ crisis  _ is the fact that you’re a pussy.” Michael pointed out, making Jeremy gasp in offense. 

 

“Pumbaa! Not in front of the kids!” He said, with a hint of a smile on his lips. 

 

Michael groaned, leaning back in his chair until the front legs lifted a few inches off the ground. “ _ Or  _ your crisis is the fact that you just quoted a Disney movie as a fully functioning adult, while comparing your best friend in the entire world to a pig.”

 

“Pumbaa is a warthog, Michael.” Jeremy pointed out, as he reached out a foot to put on the rung of Michael’s chair, pushing it down. 

 

“Oh, even better-“

 

Jeremy cut him off. “Besides, I’m not telling him that I like him because a, I don’t know he’s gay, b, I told him I had a girlfriend, and 3, if we do date or hook up and then break up it’s going to be super awkward because I’m super awkward and he’s totally awesome and-“ 

 

“Who’s totally awesome?” A voice asked from over Jeremy’s shoulder. He could detect a slight lisp in the words, which made him look around. He flashed the man behind him a quick grin. 

 

“If it isn’t my favourite customer!” He said brightly, sitting up straighter. Rich Goranski stole a chair from one of the other tables, receiving a glare from it’s occupants, keeping the back to the table and sitting on it, folding his arms to rest them on the back. 

 

“I thought I was your favouwite customew-“ Michael teased, his grin obvious on his face as he leaned towards Jeremy. 

 

The paler boy rolled his eyes, reaching out and pushing Michael back via his forehead. “You don’t count, weirdo. You got your tattoo for free.”

 

“Apparently, neither do you, ‘cause you said ‘a, b, 3’ earlier-“ Michael said, laughing a bit.

 

Rich snorted, looking between the two. “What, Heere, is this your boyfriend?” He said, before Michael could even answer. 

 

Now it was Jeremy’s turn to snort. “Michael? God, no.” Michael looked slightly put out. “Best friend. Who I may have dated in high school for a few months. But, no, we’re not dating.”

 

“So this isn’t the mysterious ‘totally awesome’ guy.” Rich said, leaning forward. He looked positively intrigued. Jeremy shot Michael a look: was it okay to talk to Rich about this? Michael wasn’t much help, only shrugging, like ‘I dunno, man, do whatever.’

 

“No. There’s… this guy. Who I, um, may have told I was dating a girl to, I dunno, impress him. Get close to him.” For some reason, this made a mischievous grin flit over Rich’s face, before he covered it with the palm of his hand. Jeremy only barreled on. “But I’ve been making a point to see him every day, and even though I’m a decent actor, I don’t think I’m good enough to tell him that I broke up with Christine. And I don’t want to say that I lied to him, because that’s just awkward, and I don’t think he likes me because I’m just some-“ He was cut off with a yelp of pain as Michael smacked the back of his head.

 

“Oi. No self-deprecation is allowed right now. I’m sure he likes you.” Michael said, rolling his eyes. “He’s obviously not straight, he runs a florist, for God’s sake.”

 

That made Rich snort, which Jeremy didn’t take kindly to, hiding his face in his hands. “Michael!” He whined, drawing out the L. “You’re supposed to help me with this but keep who he is out of it!”

 

“No, it’s just that I know the guy that runs the florist.” Rich said, matter-of-factly. “He’s totally into twinks.” 

 

A bright red blush spread over Jeremy’s face, and he shot Michael a glare. “Why does everyone think I’m a twink?” He protested, as if Michael had somehow told this guy he just met that he was a twink.

 

“Because you are, dude, you’re like- the twinkiest of twinks.” Michael said this in the  tone of someone who was trying to explain to a child that the sky is blue, hands lifted in mock surrender.

 

Jeremy, however, kept stubbornly insisting it was green. “I am so not!” Then he realized what Rich had said, and he turned to the shorter male. “Wait, you know him?” He said, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. 

 

“He’s my roommate.” Which only made Jeremy get even more flustered, dropping his head to crash onto the table again, narrowly missing his chili fries yet again. “Dude. Chill out. I am one hundred percent sure that he likes you.” Rich said it as almost a challenge, and Jeremy opened his mouth to protest. Rich turned to Michael. “Is he always this self-deprecating?” 

 

“Pretty much.” 

 

“Michael!” 

 

“I shall not lie.”

 

“Michael, you’re even less religious than me.”  

 

Rich was watching this, going back and forth between the flustered Jeremy and the smug Michael. “You’re sure you’re not dating?”

 

“ _ Yes. _ ” They both said in unison, before Jeremy gave Michael a raised eyebrow. Usually he was a bit more… upset about it, but Michael was too busy looking at Rich. With his infamous Mell-pining eyes. Ah. So  _ that  _ was why he was so adamant about this.

 

“Okay, so, Heere’s pining after Dillinger, and-“

 

“Who’s pining after me?” Jeremy sat up abruptly, almost falling out of his chair in his attempt to look decent and not like he was just talking about Jake, leaning onto his hand. 

 

“I mean- totally not me, I mean, a lot of people must be— not that I’m a lot of people. I’m just one person. But I’m not… pining after you…” 

 

Rich and Michael exchanged glances behind him, but Jake only laughed, stealing another chair from the other table— but at least he apologized to the group. It didn’t stop their glares, though. “Pity.” 

 

Rich stood up abruptly. “I, uh, hey, Michael, I think we should go. Don’t you start work soon?” 

 

There was a moment of silence while Michael was awkwardly looking at Rich, before he realized. “Oh! Oh, yeah, uh, we’ll just- we’ll be at the shop if you need us, okay? See ya, Jer.”

 

And then they disappeared, leaving Jeremy and Jake blinking at each other and their recently vacated seats. “Did they just-“

 

“I think so-“

 

“Okay. Um. That’s- that’s cool.”

 

“You’re cool.”

 

“What?”

 

“What?”

 

There was awkward, flustered silence, before Jake coughed, reaching out to tap Jeremy’s wrist, or, more accurately, the semicolon on his skin. “What’s that for?”

 

For some reason, that made Jeremy freeze, until he folded his arms, looking down at his chili fries. “It’s- uh. It’s a little, um, personal.” He mumbled, the tips of his ears going red. 

 

Jake looked at him, tilting his head like a large golden retriever. Then he gave Jeremy a smile that made Jeremy’s heart melt. “Okay, uh, what about the heart?” 

 

Jeremy finally unfolded his arms, looking down at his pale skin. “It’s- uh. I get a tattoo for only really important stuff. So— the heart’s like those Legend of Zelda ones, yknow? It’s, um… it’s kinda to remind me that I’ve still got a life left no matter how many hits I take.” Then he got embarrassed, ducking his head and playing with one of his fries. 

 

“Dude, that’s actually really cool and smart— cute  _ and  _ philosophical?” Then Jake coughed, looking awkward. Like someone like Jake Dillinger could look awkward. “I mean- sorry, man, I don’t even know if you’re gay or anything, and you’ve got the girlfriend and all-“ 

 

“I- oh, um, Christine- she’s- uh- I-“ Jeremy stammered, wishing he had Michael here so he could escape. 

 

“I mean, she’s a lucky girl and all, so I don’t blame her-“

 

“Christine isn’t my girlfriend.” Jeremy blurted out, before covering his mouth quickly, cheeks bright red. There was silence for a bit. 

 

“She’s… she’s not?” Jake blinked. “Okay, you’ve lost me, what?”

 

Jeremy groaned, putting his head on the table again. He seemed to be doing that a lot today. “I- um. She’s just… a friend of mine. I got her flowers for one of her shows so I’d have an excuse to go. To your flower shop. And talk to you. And, um.”

 

The taller boy was silent for a while, looking at the flustered male. “So… How the  _ hell  _ did Rich predict that?” 

 

Jeremy’s head jerked up quickly in surprise. Clearly, he’d been expecting Jake to be upset, or something. That sentence was not something he’d expected. “I- uh- wh-what?”

 

“Rich said ages ago that you were just pretending to have a girlfriend to talk to me. He bet me a pizza about it. Which means now I’m going to have to buy him  _ another  _ S’barro’s pizza and watch him be all smug while eating it in front of me.”

 

“You’re… not mad?” Jeremy stammered out. 

 

“I mean, I’m a little upset you thought you couldn’t talk to me without an excuse and that you lied to me for about a month-“ Another thud as Jeremy’s head hit the table again. “-but no. I’m not angry. Also, careful, you shouldn’t harm your pretty face.”

 

Jeremy made a very undignified squeaking noise, hiding his face in his arms. “My face is  _ so  _ not pretty!”

 

“I think it’s plenty pretty.” Jake said suavely, which didn’t help his grin or Jeremy’s embarrassment. “I mean, I think most of you is pretty.” Then he froze. “Wait, shit, is that too far, man? ‘Cause you might not actually be, yknow-“

 

“I’m- uh. I’m bi. Sexual. Not that I’m sexual, I’m just  _ bi _ sexual- I’m gonna stop talking now.” 

 

There was a moment of flustered, awkward silence. Jake coughed a bit. “So, uh. You free for dinner?” He asked, making Jeremy look up at him in surprise. 

 

“Like, uh, today?” 

 

“Yeah, uh. I kinda owe Rich a Sbarro’s pizza. We can go together.” Jake cast a glance in the direction of Michael’s arcade. “Make it a double date.” 

 

And that sentence made Jeremy grin a bit. Then, as if struck by a thought, he opened his mouth. “What, uh, what did that flower mean? The one you gave me, that first day.” The one he’d kept in his kitchen in a vase for ages, but he wasn’t about to say that. 

 

Jake grinned. “Coreopsis Arkansa?” He said, sounding amused. He glanced at the time. “I’ve gotta get back to the shop, but…” He leaned across the table, enough to make Jeremy go red, brushing a lock of air from his ear. “It means ‘love at first sight.’” 

 

Then he brushed his lips against Jeremy’s cheeks, leaving the poor boy flushed and embarrassed, totally not watching him walk away. And that was where he was five minutes later when Michael found him, taking the spot Jake had vacated. 

 

“So, how’d it go?” He said in a smug tone.

 

“I- uh. Think I just got us both a date.” Jeremy stammered, with the biggest grin ever. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> finally posting the second part lmao
> 
> but anyways!! more deere fluff(ish) with an added expensive headphones bit and platonic boyfs
> 
> i’ll be trying to post more now that my show is over!!
> 
> (please comment i crave validation)
> 
> stay safe, and stay wonderful, loves!!
> 
> ~percy


End file.
